Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 41: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prisoners who were rearrested within three months of release, six months of release and one year of release. [37925/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Irish Prison Service facilitated a major study of prisoner re-offending by the UCD Institute of Criminology, the findings of which were published in the May 2008 edition of the academic journal, Criminology & Criminal Justice. The recidivism rate was found by this study to be under 50% after 4 years which is in the mid to lower range of recidivism rates when compared to similar countries internationally.

I am pleased to be able to inform the Deputy that the Probation Service is in the process of conducting initial research in order to measure the recidivism rates of offenders under their management. Preliminary findings from the work done to-date indicate that the percentage of offenders who did not commit an offence in the 12 and 24 month periods after their initial conviction is high. However, this is a complex area of study and this research needs to be validated further before exact figures and findings can be published.